Devices for providing handy locomotion of boats



Sept. 12, 1967 H. FIELDMAN 3,340,844

' I DEVICES FOR PROVIDING HANDY LOCOMOTION OP BOATS Filed Feb. 2, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. HERMAN FIELDMAN BY WWW MAW Sept. 12, 1967 H. FlELDMA-N DEVICES FOR PROVIDING HANDY LOCOMOTION OF BOATS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Q Filed Feb. 2, 1966 INVENTOR, HERMAN FIELDMAN BY7/ Z Sept. 12, 1967 H. FIELDMAN 3,340,344

7 DEVICES FOR PROVIDING HANDY LOCOMOTION OF BOATS Filed Feb. 2, 1966 4 Sheets Sheet L5 E L-L 5 3.1 E INVENTOR. HERMAN FIELDMAN BYW Sept. '12, 1967 H. FIELDMAN DEVICES FOR PROVIDING HANDY LOCOMOTION OF BOATS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 2, 19,66

INVENTOR. I

' HERMAN FIELDMAN United States Patent 3,340,844 DEVICES FOR PROVIDING HANDY LOCOMOTION 0F BOATS Herman Fieldman, Northampton Township, Summit County, Ohio (600 Chart Road, Cuyahoga Falls,

Ohio 44223) 7 Filed Feb. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 524,607 7 Claims. (Cl. 11525) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is a compact and portable device that permits a boatman to use standard boat oars for footpropelling a boat in the water. The device clamps to the gunwhales of a boat, and the regular boat oars are then clamped thereinto. The device permits rapid and easy interchange between foot-pedaling and hand rowing, and incorporates a disconnect feature to prevent shoaling damage. Removing foot-pedal pressure allows the pedals to fold to the side of the boat, thereby shipping the oars and freeing the boat floor area of propelling device obstructions.

My invention relates to improvements in devices to provide handy locomotion of boats.

In using boats, many times it is desirable to be able to propel the boat through the water without the use of ones hands. This is particularly true with a fisherman when fiycasting, baitcasting, or trolling; and with duck hunters needing both hands free on the sudden flushing of ducks. It is therefore obvious that a demand exists for this type of device, which would permit locomotion of the boat through the use of ones feet. There have been prior attempts to satisfy this demand, but the constructions were unhandy and bulky, and expensive to manufacture and distribute. For these many reasons, prior construction attempts for providing locomotion of a boat by the use of ones feet, have been commercially unsuccessful and objectionable. This invention eliminates these objections by providing an improved device for the handy locomotion of a boat which is compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and simple to operate. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a device for the handy locomotion of boats with ones feet which is compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and simple to operate.

The design of this device eliminates special oars, or paddles, since the device functions by the clamping thereinto of the regular, or standard, boat oars, eliminating the necessity of carrying special paddles when renting a boat, for instance, since the oars provided with the boat are used with this invention. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a boat-propelling device which uses regular, or standard boat oars for propolling a boat with ones feet.

Another object of this invention is to provide direct mechanical foot-powered energy for de-feathering the oar, at the start of the power stroke, and bias-spring stored mechanical energy for feathering the oar, at the start of the return stroke.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for foot-propelling a boat which has a disconnect provision between oar-holding means and the actuating lever, to prevent upset of the boat in the event the oar shoals.

The boat-propelling device provided by this invention has adjusting means for setting the oars to various depths into the water. This adjusting means also allows the oars to reach the water when used with boats having different gunwhale heights. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a device for propelling a boat with ar 1C6 ones feet having adjusting means to allow setting the oars at various heights.

The boat-propelling device provided by this invention, has a primary support bracket which attaches the entire device to the gunwhale of a boat in a readily demountable .manner, and may be positioned along the gunwhale at varying distances respective to the boatmans seat, to accommodate different sized boatmen. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a device for foot-propelling a boat which is readily adjustable along the gunwhale of a boat, to accommodate boatmen of different sizes.

In the boat-propelling device provided by this invention, the secondary support rod is readily insertable into a standard oar lock, provided on many boats. In such cases, the primary support bracket is dispensed with, where the boat seat is so positioned as to permit the boatmans feet to properly reach the pedals. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a footoperated boat-propelling device which can be used in the existing oar-lock of a boat, in those cases where boatmans size accommodates the boat seat distance from the oar locks.

Since rowing a boat by hand has been the most common way of propelling a boat for many years, under certain circumstances, the natural inclination would be to temporarily return to hand rowing of the boat. This invention permits this to be done very readily, by depressing the oar handles toward the bottom of the boat, removing foot pressure from the pedals, and allowing the bias spring to fold the actuating lever out of its operating area. The boatman can then row the boat by hand in a normal manner, and afterwards quickly return to footpedal operation. It is therefore another object of this invention to allow a boatman to readily and quickly switch back and forth, between foot-pedal rowing or hand rowing, as the desire may be.

Another object of this invention is to provide a foot operated boat-propelling device that automatically folds most of its bulk out of the way inboard the boat, leaving the entire floor area of the boat free of propelling mechanism, and that ships the oars to the side outboard the boat, out of the way, when the boatman removes his feet from the pedals.

In propelling a boat by any means, it is often desirable to proceed Without splashing of the cars, to avoid alerting fish or game to the boatmans presence. In this invention the boatman has it completely in his power to do this simply by shortening the pedal stroke to less than the maximum, and the feathering and de-fea-thering of the oars takes place entirely under water, thereby eliminating splash. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a foot-operated boat-propelling device that is able to eliminate oar splashing noise entirely.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of this invention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a row bo'at showing a pair of this invention clamped to the gunwales of the boat, with the regular boat oars clamped into the invention, and showing two different positions and attitudes of the device, along with the sweep of the oars attainable. The two arrows illustrate the oar movement on the power stroke of the device.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the device on the left gunwale of a boat, in the idle position, oar feathered and shipped forward, foot off pedal; the arrow showing the direction of pedal movement on applying foot power.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the device on the left gunwale of a boat, oar de-tfeathered, almost at the end of the power stroke, arrow indicating direction of ear movement.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation on line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a vertical section on line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a vertical section view on line 66 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a partial elevation, similar to FIG. 4, showing part of the adjustment means for oar submergence.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation showing means of using this invention in an existing oar lock on a boat. The illustration showing the device on the left gunwale of a boat.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view on line 99 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view on line 10-10 of part of FIG. 8, showing internal wall construction of the opening 83.

The boat-propelling device provided by this invention consists of one assembly. In operation, two of these substantially identical assemblies are used to constitute a pair, since there is no substantial difference between a right side and a left side assembly.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral 10 denotes a boat with which the boat-propelling device provided by this invention can be used. This boat need not have oar locks, because the boat-propelling device provided by this invention is complete of itself. The device includes a primary support bracket denoted by the numeral 20. The primary support bracket 20 has a seating surface 32, which is dimensioned to rest upon the gun- 'wale of a boat. A seating surface 34, is disposed at right angles to the surface 32, also provided on primary support bracket 20. The seating surface 34 is dimensioned to fit against the exterior of the hull of the boat 10. A pressure plate 36 is provided to engage the interior of the hull of the boat 10, this pressure plate being in register with the seating surface 34 on primary support bracket 20. Pressure plate 36 is supported on a thumb screw 21, which is carried by primary support bracket 20. To attach the primary support bracket 20 to the boat 10, back the pressure plate 36 away from the seating surface 34, by rotating the thumb screw 21, to get enough clearance to receive the hull of the boat 10, and then rotate the thumb screw 21 until the pressure plate 36 and the seating surface 34 snugly engage the interior and exterior of the boat hull, respectively, The primary support bracket 20 is so positioned along the gunwale of the boat 10 as to satisfy the foot-reach of the boatman from the boat seat to the pedal 38.

The primary support bracket 20 includes the bearing 40, which receives the secondary support rod journal 30, in the longitudinal bore 48. The bearing 40 has a substantially vertically disposed axis. The secondary support rod journal 30 is pivotally mounted in the bearing 40, and also passes through the transverse mounting bore 44, of actuating lever 43, thereby pivotally supporting actuating lever 43 on a substantially vertically disposed axis. The actuating lever 43 has a shoulder 47, which rests on the shoulder 42, of the bearing 40, the shoulder 42 pivotally supporting the weight of the actuating lever 43. The recess 45 in the bearing 40 is for the purpose of assisting in the assembly of the device in an easy manner by the boatman, without tools being necessary. The undercut portion 46 of the actuating lever 43, and the recess 45 in the bearing 40, serve to hold and align the bore 48, of bearing 40 with the bore 44, of the actuating lever 43, prior to inserting the secondary support rod journal 30 into the bore 44 and the bore 48. Also, the further function of the undercut portion 46 and the recess 45, is to facilitate the easy mounting of the bias spring 24 on the anchors 41 and 49, located on the primary support bracket 20 and the actuating lever 43, respectively. In order to provide proper bias on the actuating lever 43, it is necessary for bias spring 24 to be tensioned when actuating lever 43 is in the idle position; that is to say, foot off the pedal. This is necessary to hold the oar 1:2 properly shipped forward and the pedal 38 folded close to the inboard side of the boat 10. By connecting one end 26 of bias spring 24 to anchor stud 41 on primary support bracket 20, and the other end 50 of bias spring 24 to the anchor stud 49 on actuating lever 43, it is relatively easy to apply tension to the bias spring 24, and then insert the undercut portion 46 of the actuating lever 43 into the recess 45 of the bearing 40. vBy so doing, the bore 44 of actuating lever 43 and the bore 48 of the bearing 40, will be held in alignment to allow ready and easy insertion thereinto of the secondary support rod journal 30, which allows aligned pivotable movement between the bearing 40, the actuating lever 43, and the secondary support rod journal 30.

At the upper extremity of the secondary support rod journal 30, is the support head 54, having a shoulder 53, which rests on the shoulder 52 of the actuating lever 43, for pivotal support. The support head 54 has a transverse bore 62, a mating surface 58 in the same plane as the support rod journal 30, which mates with the surface 57 of the support arm 56. Support arm 56 is a portion of the mount 63 for the rollable oar holding clamp 69. Support arm 56 also has a transverse bore 61, through which passes the bolt 55. The bolt 55 also passes through the transverse bore 62 of support head 54, and by means of the nut 59 holds the mating surfaces 57 and 58 in close, but not locked, proximity to each other, thus allowing support arm 56 to pivot about the substantially horizontal axis of its bore 61, in a controllable manner.

At the upper extremity of support arm 56 is the base plate 65 of the mount 63, which has two sleeve bearing type supports 72 rigidly attached thereto, at the opposite extremities of the base plate 65, with the bores of the two sleeve-bearing type supports in alignment with each other. Placed between, and in alignment with, the two sleevebearing type supports 72, is another sleeve-bearing type support 66, which is rigidly attached to the bed portions 68 of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, with the pin 67 inserted through the bores of the three sleeve-bearing type supports 72, 72, and 66, holding the rollable oarhol-ding clamp 69 rollably attached to the base plate 65. The rubber stops 64 attached to the base plate 65 are contacted by the bed portions 68 at the extremities of the movement of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, such contact serving to absorb shock nad dampen out noise. This rollable movement is limited to ninety degrees of rotation from one extremity to the other, and causes the feathering and defeathering action of the oar 12 on the boat 10.

A pressure plate 70 is provided, supported on a thumb screw 71 that is carried by the rollable oar-holding clamp 69. The pressure plate 70 has an in-curved surface, which is brought into register with the out-curved surface of the handle of the car 12, forcing the handle of the oar 12 into contact with the surfaces 81 of the bed portions 68 of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, thus holding the handle of the oar 12 firmly and immovably, with respect to the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, without damage to the handle of the oar 12. To mount the handle of the oar 12 into the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, it is only necessary to rotate the thumb screw 71 until the pressure plate 70 is a sufficient distance from the surfaces 81 to receive the handle of the car 12, then insert and rotate the handle of the oar 12 relative to the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, so the blade of the oar 12 has the correct disposition to the water, relative to the position of the rollable oarholding clamp 69 on the base plate 65. Then rotate the thumb screw 71 until the pressure plate 70 firmly engages the handle of the oar 12, between the pressure Plate 70 and the surfaces 81 on the bed portions 68 of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69.

Rigidly attatched to the bed portions 68 of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, is the protrusion 79, which acts across and at right angles to the axis of the rollable oarholding clamp 69. The protrusion 79 has near its extremity the bolt 77, adjustably attached thereto by means of a transverse hole and the two nuts 78. The bolt 77 has a substantially rounded head 80 at its extremity, which is loosely inserted in the opening 83 located on one extremity of the actuating lever 43. This opening 83 is generally cubical in shape, with its top 76 being open completely, and its extreme front side 82 being open completely. The other four walls of the generally cubical shaped opening 83 are intact, with the remaining two opposing vertical Walls being inclined from the vertical towards each other in such a manner that the top 76 of the generally cubical shaped opening 83 is of a lesser cross-sectional size than is the cross-sectional size of the balance of the generally cubical shaped opening 83. As the walls of the generally cubical shaped opening 83 force the rounded head 80 of the bolt 77 to move the protrusion 79 in either a power stroke or return stroke direction, the inclined vertical walls of the generally cubical shaped opening 83 will also apply force to the rounded head 80 of the bolt 77 in a downwardly direction, away from the top 76 of the generally cubical shaped opening 83. This results in keeping the base plate 65 of the mount 63 in contact with the head 84 of the sub'mergence adjusting bolt 74, thereby preventing loss of submengence of the oar 12, except under shoaling conditions.

The support head 54 has an extension 73 forming an integral part thereof, and near the extremity of the extension 73, in a transverse and threaded hole, is inserted the submergence adjusting bolt 74, having a head 84 against which rests the base plate 65 of the mount 63. By rotating the bolt 74 so the head 84 is closer or farther from the extension 73, the blade of the oar 12 will have its sub-mergence in the water increased or decreased, respectively. However, by rotating the bolt 74 so the head 84 is closer or farther from the extension 73, the rounded head 80 of the bolt 77 would tend to contact the floor of the generally cubical shaped opening 83, or be disconnected therefrom, respectively, were it not for the transverse holes 51 drilled in the secondary support rod journal 30, which receive the pin 60, thus allowing the support head 54 to be adjusted at various distances from the actuating lever 43. When the adjusting bolt 74 is rotated so its head 84 is closer to the extension 73 to give more oar submergence, then the support head 54 is raised a compensating amount away from the actuating lever 43, separating the two shoulders 53 and 52 from each other, and preventing the rounded head 80 of the bolt 77 from contacting the floor of the generally cubical shaped opening 83. The pin 60 is inserted in one of the transverse holes 51 in secondary support rod journal 30, which would coincide with the shoulder 52. The pin 60 would thereafter serve the function previously served by the shoulder 53. To give less oar submergence, the foregoing procedure is reversed. The same adjustments for oar submergence are also used to compensate for varying gunwhale heights on different boats.

In those cases where a boat has oar locks that are spaced a suitable distance from the boat seat to satisfy the size of the boatman, this invention may be used in these existing oar locks. In such cases, the primary support bracket is not used, and the secondary support rod journal 30 is inserted into the existing oar lock 11, of the boat 10, instead of into the bore 48 of the bearing 40. The oar lock 11 then supports the remainder of this invention, along with the standard boat oar 12, as previously described, to allow normal foot-pedal propelling of the boat. The end 26 of the bias spring 24 is then inserted in an opening 28 drilled through a standard C-clamp 22, and the C-clamp 22 is then attached to the gunwhale of the boat 10, as illustrated in the drawings, thereby providing the required tension on the bias spring On the foot-rest extremity of the actuating lever 43 is provided a pedal 38 for receiving the boatmans foot in a convenient manner, and arranged to pivot on the extremity of the actuating lever 43 on a substantially vertical axis.

In the operation of this invention, the boatman places his foot on the pedal 38, which after attaching to the boat 10 would be in the position shown by the solid lines of FIG. 1. In this position, the biasing spring 24 is at its minimum tension, with the oar 12 feathered and in the forward or shipped position. When the boatman applies pressure to the pedal 38', the actuating lever 43 will pivot on its substantially vertical axis, and the pedal 38 will be moved toward the bow of the boat 10, in a plane approximately parallel to the bottom of the boat 10. The force applied to the pedal 38 by the boatman is transmitted pivotally, on the actuating lever 43 to the opening 83 at the extremity of the actuating lever 43, but since opening 83 is on the opposite side of secondary support rod journal 30 from pedal 38, its movement in relation to boat 10 would be from bow to stern. The movement of the opening 83 sternward would be transferred to the rounded head of bolt 77, then to the protrusion 79, then across its axis to the bed portions 68 of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69. Since the rollable oar-holding clamp 69 is free to roll about its axis pin 67 in a ninety degree are between the rubber stops 64, and the oar 12 having considerable inertia, the force applied by the generally cubical shaped opening 83 to the bolt head 80, in a sternward direction, will go through the protrusion 79 and across its axis, thereby causing the rollable oar-holding clamp 69 to roll toward the bow of the boat 10. This rolling bow-ward of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69 will be limited to an arc of ninety degrees, thereby de-feathering the blade of the oa-r 12. As the boatman continues his application of foot power to the pedal 38, the boat will be propelled in the direction of the force applied to the pedal 38', until the end of the power stroke is reached; either by reaching the limit of travel of the pedal 38, as shown in the phantom oar position of FIG. 1, or the desire of the boatman to terminate the stroke prior to stroke limit being reached. During the application of foot power to the pedal 38, the movement of the actuating lever 43 has caused the anchor stud 49, located on the actuating lever 43, to move away from the anchor stud 41, located on the primary support bracket 20. This movement has increased the tension on the bias spring 24, which has its ends, 26 and 50, hooked to the anchor studs, 41 and 49, respectively, thereby storing considerable energy in the bias spring 24. On the lboatman removing foot-pressure from the pedal 38, the energy stored in the bias spring 24 will cause the generally cubical shaped opening 83 on actuating lever 43 to apply force on the bolt head 80, in a direction toward the bow of the boat 10. Since the blade of the car 12 has considerable inertia, and since the rollable oar-holding clamp 69 is free to roll about its axis pin 67 in a ninety degree are between the rubber stops 64, the force applied by the generally cubical shaped opening 83 to the bolt head 80, in a direction toward the bow of the boat 10, by the bias spring 24, will cause the rollable oar-holding clamp 69 to roll toward the stern of the boat 10. This rolling sternward of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, will be limited to an arc of ninety degrees by the rubber stops 64, thereby feathering the blade of the oar 12. As the bias spring 24 continues the application of its stored energy to the actuating lever 43, through the anchor stud 49, the completion of the feathered return stroke of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, and the oar 12, is accomplished; for the continuation of boat movement the process is repeated as in the foregoing description.

To steer the boat, the boatman simply allows the pedal 38 that is on the side toward the desired direction of turning, to remain idle, while foot-power is applied to the opposite pedal 38.

In the event of shoaling, the blade of the oar 12 will be forced upwards, thereby disconnecting the rounded bolt head 80 from the opening 83, the bolt 55 being loosely joined to permit the mount 63 to pivot about its substantially horizontal axis. On the cause of the shoaling 7 being eliminated, the boatman can readily re-align the bolt head 80 with the opening 83, by holding the footpedal stationary, and maneuvering the handle of the oar 12 by hand, to re-insert the bolt head 80 into the opening 83.

In the event the boatman desires for any reason to row the boat by hand in the custormary manner, he needs only to grasp the handle of the oar 12, depress it toward the bottom of the boat 10, allow the actuating lever 43 to be unfolded to the inboard side of the boat 10 by the tension of the bias spring 24, when pedal foot-pressure is removed, thereby uncoupling the bolt head 80 from the opening 83. Then continuing to grasp the handle of the oar 12, the boatman then rolls the rollable oar-holding clamp 69 toward the bow of the boat 10 until the rubber stop 64 is contacted by the bed portion 68 of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69. Maintaining a firm grip on the handle of the oar 12 to prevent further rolling of the rollable oar-holding clamp 69, the boatman proceeds to row in the customary manner, either forward or backward. On desiring to return to foot-powered rowing, the boatman recouples the bolt head 80 into the opening 83 on the actuating lever 43, by reversing the before described upcoupling procedure.

Whereas a preferred embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the form of the invention without affecting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

1. A device that facilitates the handy locomotion of a boat, by using a standard boat oar, and comprising, in combination, a rollable oar-holding means, a protrusion on said rollable oar-holding means acting substantially at right angles to the axis of said rollable oar-holding means, a mount for said rollable oar-holding means rollably attached to said rollable oar-holding means, a secondary support pivotally attached to said mount, a primary support for said secondary support being attachable to the gunwhale of a boat and having means to pivotally receive said secondary support, an actuating lever having foot-rest means at one extremity and connecting means at the opposite extremity, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said extremity, said connecting means extremity of said actuating lever being operatably connected to said protrusion of said rollable oar-holding means, and means for biasing said actuating lever to return position.

2. A device that facilitates the handy locomotion of a boat, by using a standard boat oar, and comprising, in combination, a rollable oar-holding means, a protrusion on said rollable oar-holding tmeans acting substantially at right angles to the axis of said rollable oar-holding means, a substantially rounded extremity on said protrusion, a mount for said rollable oar-holding means rollably attached to said rollable oar-holding means, a secondary support pivotally attached to said mount, a primary support for said secondary support being attachable to the gunwhale of a boat and having means to pivotally receive said secondary support, an actuating lever having foot-rest means at one extremity and an opening at the oposite extremity to receive said substantially rounded extremity of said protrusion in an operatable manner, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said extremities, and means for biasing said actuating lever to return position.

3. A device that facilitates the handy locomotion of a boat, by using a standard boat oar, and comprising, in combination, a rollable oar-holding means, a protrusion on said rollable oar-holding means acting substantially at right angles to the axis of said rollable oar-holding means, a substantially rounded extremity on said protrusion, a mount for said rollable oar-holding means rollably attached to said rollable oar-holding means, a secondary support pivotally attached to said mount on a substantially horizontally disposed axis, a primary support for said secondary support being attachable to the gunwhale of a boat and having means to pivotally receive said secondary support on a substantially vertically disposed axis, an actuating lever having foot-rest means at one extremity and an opening at the opposite extremity so arranged as to receive vertical entrance thereinto of said substantially rounded extremity of said protrusion, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said extremities, and means for biasing said actuating lever to return position.

4. A device that facilitates the handy locomotion of a boat, by using a standard boat oar, and comprising, in combination, a rollable oar-holding means, a protrusion on said rollable oar-holding means acting substantially at right angles to the axis of said rollable oar-holding means, a substantially rounded extremity on said protrusion, a mount for said rollable oar-holding means rollably attached to said rollable oar-holding means, said mount having a substantially horizontally disposed axis, said mount being pivotable about said substantially horizontally disposed axis, a secondary support pivotally attached to said mount, adjustable stop means to adjust ably limit the downward pivoting of said \mount about said substantially horizontally disposed axis, a primary support for said secondary support being attachable to the gunwhale of a boat and having means to pivotally receive said secondary support, an actuating lever having foot-rest means at one extremity and an opening at the opposite extremity to receive said substantially rounded extremity of said protrusion in an operatable manner, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said extremities, and means for biasing said actuating lever to return position.

5. A device that facilitates the handy locomotion of a boat, by using a standard boat oar, and comprising, in combination, a rollable oar-holding means, a protrusion on said rollable oar-holding means acting substantially at right angles to the axis of said rollable oar-holding means, a substantially rounded extremity on said protrusion, a mount for said rollable oar-holding means rollably attached to said rollable oar-holding means, said mount having a substantially horizontally disposed axis, said mount being pivotable about said substantially horizontally disposed axis, a secondary support pivotally attached to said mount, a primary support for said secondary support being attachable to the gunwhale of a boat and having means to pivotally receive said secondary support, an actuating lever having foot-rest means at one extremity and an opening at the opposite extremity so arranged as to receive vertical entrance thereinto of said substantially rounded extremity of said protrusion in an operatable manner and with the opposing vertical internal walls of said opening being inclined toward each other in such a manner that the vertical entrance of said opening is of smaller cross-sectional size than is the cross-sectional size of the balance of the opening on said actuating lever extremity, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said extremities, and means for biasing said actuating lever to return position.

6. A device that facilitates the handy locomotion of a boat, by using a standard boat oar, and comprising, in combination, a rollable oar-holding means, a protrusion on said rollable oar-holding means acting substantially at right angles to the axis of said rollable oar-holding means, said axis being inclined from the horizontal, a mount for said rollable oar-holding means rollably attached to said rollable oar-holding means, said mount having a substantially horizontally disposed axis, a secondary support pivotally attached to said mount and having a substantially vertically disposed axis, said secondary support being pivotable about said substantially vertically disposed axis, a primary support for said secondary support being attachable to the gunwhale of a boat and having an opening with a substantially vertically disposed axis to pivotally receive said secondary support and an enlarged recess at the upper extremity of said opening in said primary support, an actuating lever having foot-rest means at one extremity and connecting means at the opposite extremity, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said extremities on a substantially vertically disposed axis with the lower portion of said pivotal mounting area of said actuating lever being shaped to readily insert into said enlarged recess of said opening on said primary support, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said secondary support and said primary support, said connecting means extremity of said actuating lever being operatably connected to said protrusion of said rollable oar-holding means, and means for biasing said actuating lever to return position.

7. A device that facilitates the handy locomotion of a boat, by using a standard boat oar, and comprising, in combination, a rollable oar-holding means, a protrusion on said rollable oar-holding means acting substantially at right angles to the axis of said rollable oarholding means, said axis being inclined from the horizontal, a mount for said rollable oar-holding means rollably attached to said rollable oar-holding means, said mount having a substantially horizon-tally disposed axis, a secondary support pivotally attached to said mount, said secondary support being pivotally insertable into the existing oar lock of a boat on a substantially vertically disposed axis, an actuating lever having foot-rest means at one extremity and connecting means at the opposite extremity, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said extremities on a substantially vertically disposed axis, said actuating lever being pivotally mounted between said secondary support and the existing oar lock of a'=boat, with said connecting means extremity of said actuating lever being operatably connected to said protrusion of said rollable oar-holding means, and means for biasing said actuating lever to return position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,909,359 5/1933 Jaeger 9--25 2,699,137 1/1955 Kettler 115-25 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

A. H. FARRELL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE THAT FACILITATES THE HANDY LOCOMOTION OF A BOAT, BY USING A STANDARD BOAT OAR, AND COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A ROLLABLE OAR-HOLDING MEANS, A PROTRUSION ON SAID ROLLABLE OAR-HOLDING MEANS ACTING SUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE AXIS OF SAID ROLLABLE OAR-HOLDING MEANS, A MOUNT FOR SAID ROLLABLE OAR-HOLDING MEANS ROLLABLY ATTACHED TO SAID ROLLABLE OAR-HOLDING MEANS, A SECONDARY SUPPORT PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAID MOUNT, A PRIMARY SUPPORT FOR SAID SECONDARY SUPPORT BEING ATTACHABLE TO THE GUNWHALE OF A BOAT AND HAVING MEANS TO PIVOTALLY RECEIVE SAID SECONDARY SUPPORT, AN ACTUATING LEVER HAVING FOOT-REST MEANS AT ONE EXTREMITY AND CONNECTING MEANS AT THE OPPOSITE EXTREMITY, SAID ACTUATING LEVER BEING PIVOTALLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID EXTREMITY, SAID CONNECTING MEANS EXTREMITY OF SAID ACTUATING LEVER BEING OPERATABLY CONNECTED TO SAID PROTRUSION OF SAID ROLLABLE OAR-HOLDING MEANS, AND MEANS FOR BIASING SAID ACTUATING LEVER TO RETURN POSITION. 